I flush, fighting the urge to snatch the lube back. But am I really going to debate sex products with an actual porn star? I might have a medical degree, but it’s not surprising I feel out of my depth with the guy whose name is on the tube.
“Come on,” Diana says, dropping the cushion and getting to her feet. “I want to take a bath while I can still enjoy it.”
I follow in her wake, but snatch her hand as we get to the door. “You sure this is what you want? I know we never talked about your heat, but there are other options if you need them. Places you can go, and professionals who can help.”
I expect Rowan to give my little speech the stink eye, but he nods as he looks at Diana. “He’s right. There are facilities that specialize in omega heats, and even some that are dedicated to first-time heats. Wherever you want to go, we’ll make it happen.”
I’m not sure if he’s including me in the equation, but I decide to take him at face-value. “I can get you a referral from Ben, if you want.”
I’m halfway to pulling out my phone, but Diana places a hand on both our chests. “I know I’m new at making decisions, but I know what I want.This, here with you both, and with Kane too, as soon as Kennedy finds him.” Her face is calm, but her eyes are sharp as she searches my face. “I get to choose, don’t I, Dex?”
“Yes, babe, you do.”
How can I tell her that real choice only works when you have all the information, and not admit that she’s been starved of both for most of her life?
With a satisfied nod, she threads her fingers through mine and leads me into the bathroom. It’s exactly what you’d expect in a suite like this, with plenty of marble and gold flourishes, along with a huge steam shower, decked-out vanity, and an entire wall devoted to plush bathrobes and fluffy towels. The giant tub is lit with more mood lighting, and the shelf behind it is lined with enough bath products to sink a ship.
“Good, then come scrub my back.”
The tub is big enough to fit all three of us, but Rowan doesn’t remove his bathrobe. Instead, he helps Diana into the bath and drops to his knees at the side, his hands sliding to her shoulders. He nods at me, and I kick off my shoes and lose my shirt. It’s hard not to feel a little self-conscious as I drop my jeans and boxers, but Rowan is murmuring in Diana’s ear, his nose brushing the long line of her neck. Her eyes are on me, but they’re hooded, her head nodding slightly at whatever he’s telling her.
Rose petals float in the warm water, the tub’s jets creating sweetly-scented bubbles that pop against my chest. It would be the perfect environment for relaxing if Diana wasn’t staring at me like a snack.
Whatever Rowan is whispering seems to send her forward, her body floating towards me until I feel her hands on my thighs. I grip her hips under the water, but it’s only when Velcro scrapes my wrist that I realize she’s cuffed us together. “Omegas like to keep their lovers close during their heat,” Rowan says with a hint of a smirk. He shakes his head, making the leash dip in the water, and I stare at the leather collar around his neck. “This way, we’re both right where she wants us.”
“And this is where you want me?” I ask as Diana straddles my lap, our cuffed hands clasped together. “Right here?”
“It’s where I’ve always wanted you,” she says in a husky voice, her thighs clenching against my hips. “Because now I can kiss you, any time I want.”
We’ve done this before, of course, but always with at least one layer of clothes between us and a hundred rules ringing in my head. Diana loves to cuddle, nuzzling into my neck and falling asleep in my arms more times than I can count. Back in her narrow bed in the facility, we’d make out like sleepy teenagers, mumbling things to each other as our lips brushed together. There was always something innocent about the way she’d finally slide her tongue against mine, but Diana in her heat is a different creature.
Or maybe just spending time with a porn star has taught her to be more aggressive in her pleasure, because she grips my cheek, her tongue licking into my mouth. I moan as I chase her velvet heat, our cuffed hands pressing between us as I fondle her tight nipples. My eyes roll, but I force them open as she squeezes my hips with her thighs, her belly brushing the throbbing shaft of my cock. “I want you to knot me, Dex.”
“What?”
She’s not so far gone that she’s forgotten my biology, has she? But then I remember what I walked in on, and my gaze flicks to Rowan, who gives me a cheeky wink. “You can borrow mine,man.” He stresses the word, as if mocking my earlier comment, but then rises to his feet. “Just kidding, I bought spares.” He unhooks the leash from his collar, disappearing back into the bedroom, and I stare at Diana, drinking in her heat-glazed beauty.
Now we’re alone, I can admit I’ve wanted this since the moment I met her. During all those kisses and cuddles we shared, I held back, knowing it wasn’t just against the rules, but a shitty thing to do to someone in her position. Some of the caretenders got away with it, working around the constant checks and sensors, but I never crossed the line with Diana. Out of all the omegas, she seemed so innocent, probably because she was in the facility alongtime. One of the longest-serving inmates, in fact, since most omegas either dried up or flipped out, their bodies and hormones too abused to produce the minimal amount of slick required by their owners.
“I’m sorry, baby,” I tell her now, burying my guilt and heartache in her neck. “I should have saved you from that fucking place.”
I only realize I’m crying when she catches my tears on her fingertips and sucks them into her mouth. Her eyes are so kind – soforgiving– it just makes the damn things fall twice as fast. “You cared for me, Dex. I don’t doubt that for a second.”
“Ilovedyou,” I correct her, tipping my head back so she can see the truth in my eyes. “Still do. So much that it burns I didn’t do more to protect you.”
She clicks her tongue, both hands gripping my cheeks so that the wet fur of her cuff rubs against my scruff. It tickles, but her eyes are fierce, and I feel my heart freeze between onebeat and the next. “You made me strong, my love. You gave me hope. Some of the other omegas…” Her lashes flutter, lost in memories, but then her gaze hardens, the irises darkening to the color of storm clouds. “We heard whispers. Rumors that retirement wasn’t all they promised. I watched some of the others shrivel in on themselves, until even their caretenders couldn’t touch them. But you told me stories, listened to my dreams, and never once questioned my faith. It might have been lies, but they kept me going, Dex. Yousavedme, in your own way.”
Is that enough? That I hid the lies and spun a bunch of stories? Does that even remotely exonerate me for the damage I let happen?
I don’t think it does, but I sink into her kiss, my hands roaming freely over her body. Or as freely as they can when we’re cuffed together. She laughs when we get tangled up, ripping the handcuffs off and dropping them over the side of the tub with a wet splat.
Rowan chooses that moment to return, and Diana looks at him almost shyly as she explains, “I’ve always believed Dex is mine. Even if he could, I know he won’t leave me.”
“Never.” I catch her lips again, my fingers digging into her hips as I lick the little moans from her mouth. It’s as if my hunger has unleashed her heat and she starts to rock over me, her eyes unfocused as she grinds against my lap. My cock is a hard rod between us, and I bite my tongue every time she rolls her belly against it. I haven’t been this raw and needy since I was a teenager, and I’m suddenly worried I might come before I even get inside her. “Babe, you want my knot?”
She blinks at me, bliss already smeared across her features. “Yes,” she moans, licking water from the side of my neck. “Please, Dex. I want to feel you deep inside me.”
I shudder, grateful for the free hand I can slide beneath the water to squeeze my throbbing cock. What I’m not expecting is for Rowan to drop back down by the side of the tub, a silicone cock ring in his hand. Except that this is bigger, thicker, and more like an alpha knot than a ring. Diana moans at the sight of it, and Rowan gives me a sly smile. “Is this what you want, sweetheart?” he purrs, stroking her damp hair. “Dex’s thick knot to fill you up?”
